[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by you&me

This is the most ignorant thing I've read all night.

It's all well and good to sit back here and play armchair political QB, but I think you and everyone expecting a big blue wave are naive and vastly under (or over, depending on your perspective) estimating the motivations of the American people... When it comes down to those actually casting the votes, just as GullFoss said - it's the economy, stupid.

My business is almost entirely based in the US with American clients and customers from coast to coast that I speak to on a daily basis. The one thing they all have in common, when it really (really) comes down to it is that personal economic interest trumps (excuse the pun) ALL ELSE. USA! USA! USA!

I also find that the average citizen (can't say whether they're voters or not) is, at best, casually interested in politics and the details of what their elected leaders are doing on a day to day basis. The news cycle moves so fast, and their lives are otherwise so busy (or distracted) that they barely grasp the headlines, let alone have the patience (or attention span) to look any deeper.

What they do know is that employment is up, people are busy spending money and even if just by the seat of their pants, things in their day to day lives seem pretty good right now.

Racist remarks from the POTUS? Oh, that's in bad taste... but I can afford that new truck!

Children in cages? Eww, that's pretty bad... But they're not my kids & hey, I just got a new OLED TV, so things can't be that bad.


That is all this comes down to. Basically it's marketing... Whether true or not or even demonstrably false, the Republicans are branded as the 'good economy' party. And when things seem to be good, no matter what else is going on, people's self interest and ignorance means no one wants the party to stop.

Um.... this is a hilariously bad take on a night when the Democrats look poised to win the congressional ballot by nine percentage points and retake control of the House of Representatives.